A man enters his barracks, his figure veiled by the darkness engulfing his room. It is late-- the night before the mission. A calm yet imposing voice cuts through the silence.
"You're late..." the voice lingers in the air.
The man turns his head, expecting whoever is talking to him. A vested man partially walks out of the darkness. His features are covered by deep shadows.
"This is a mission from the higher-ups," his voice echoes. He coldly placed the document files onto the table–thick, heavy, classified. The man picks up the files and carefully reads the contents inside.
He didn't blink once as his eyes focused on the mission report.
"Remember the rules," the vested man warns, placing his hands behind his back. "Consequences are severe. Failure is not an option."
A silence falls between them. The distant steps of footsteps echo between the hallways. The usual hum of the barracks is replaced with an eerie stillness. Many recruits and mentors discuss the mission dealing with the distortion zone. Their soft chatter felt empty, filtering through the walls.
"Kill the Mothman himself. Cut off the old head- do it clean or messy. It needs to stay permanent," the vested man circles around the figure, his voice never rising. "Use everything at your disposal. Nothing is off limits for now."
The man nodded. The tension is palpable as it can be cut with a knife.
"As for Zhang…" the man hung around like barbed wire. "He's useful for...now. Should he stray from the path…you know what to do." the vested man slowly walks back into the darkness, disappearing without a trace. Leaving behind nothing but the reports of the mission.
The man looks down at the file, the silence louder than ever. There were no written orders inside but the message was clear.
The morning sun rises casting a golden hue onto the earth's surface. The cotton candy clouds drift afloat in the sky. The bustling city is still busy with pedestrians and cars. In the outskirts- a different story is unfolding.
"Is the area evacuated?" Zhang shouts out, his steps foreboding and absolute.
"Yes sir," a warden bows down in respect. "The distortion zone's barriers seem to be stable for another 5 days so we have plenty of time to clear it."
"Alright. We'll be doing this in stages," Zhang, turns around, looks intently at the teams surrounding him, "Team A and team B will clear the dome with its lower rank Elusives. After that Team C will destroy all of the crystals summoning Elusives. Finally Team D with myself and Edward Meitner will take down the distortion zone's boss."
Edward's phoenix circles around the distortion zone, surveying the surrounding area. Alwin Dubois stands around, his tired dark eyes looking around the area as if searching for threats. His long black uniform sways in the intense winds rushing out of the dome.
Edward grips his katana seeing all the determined yet frightened faces of the wardens around him. This is going to be a long-complex operation. If this fails– hundreds of thousands of superpowered Elusives will ravage the city.
Contrasting the chaos– back at home, Kiara playfully throws a toy ball at the ceiling. She watches as it bounces up and down off the roofs. She turns her head to see Evander absorbed in his rom-com show, wearing a crewneck sweatshirt under a black bomber jacket. The actors cheesily recite their lines but it felt so alluring that Kiara couldn't leave her eyes off the screen.
"You're too invested in this," Kiara yawns to herself. She stretches her arms out as Evander turns off the TV. Lifting her head, Kiara sees Evander looming over her, his expression unreadable.
"Let's go to the Crimson PineGlade," Evander utters, placing his hands on his hips. "It's training time. There should still be an excess amount of Elusives there."
"Why?" Kiara begrudgingly says, making exaggerated tired noises. "Why can't we chill?"
A silence falls between them. Evander's eyes narrow, his tone shifting colder.
"Have you found anything about the soul-bound yet?" Evander questions, his eyes wide open, his presence showing murderous intent. He actually isn't going to kill Kiara- it is just going to psyche her out to answer his question honestly.
"I haven't been in the temple in like a week until yesterday which was already too late," Kiara casually tries to shift the situation in a different direction. Evander's eyes hardened, he wasn't amused by her answer.
"Until you find a fix into our link together, you will listen to me," Evander orders, grabbing Kiara by the arm. He playfully drags her out of the couch as she angrily makes teenage groans. She lies on the ground as her right hand is still caught in her grip.
"Where's your grandfather's keys to the Porsche or whatever it is," Evander looks through the kitchen while holding Kiara's arm while she is just laying on the ground.
"We can't use the Porsche," Kiara dramatically shakes her arm trying to free herself from Evander's grip. "Grandpa would kill me if I destroyed his friend's gift to him."
"Is Edward here?" Evander rebuts, raising his eyebrow, he grabs the keys out of the cupboards. "Remember he said he would be gone for at least 2 days. As long as you don't swerve out of the lane, you'll be fine."
"No, we can't. Grandpa has eyes everywhere," Kiara says with a dry tone. "He'll know."
A tiny tingle hits Edward's neck, and a strange sensation makes him pause. It felt like some sort of 6 sense alerted to something. He turns around, his eyes narrowing at the blue sky above him. He could feel something wrong in the air.
"You okay Edward?" Zhang walks forward, his gaze heavily focused on the report in his hand.
"It felt like someone was going to drive my Porsche," Edward says with a dramatic tone, his eyes narrowing with a theatrical flair. "That better not be Evander's doing," He says with mock horror in his voice.
"Who's Evander? Is that Kiara's friend?" Zhang writes down on his report, his eyes lifting for just a moment seeing Team A and B enter the distortion zone. Suddenly something clicks in Zhang's head, and he turns around utterly confused. His brain processes what Edward just said.
"Wait. You own a Porsche?" Zhang questions, genuinely stunned.
"It was a gift from your friend," Edward casually remarks. "Nikolaus to be exact."
"Oh my. He should stop giving away expensive things as gifts," Zhang groans to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. His voice drips with annoyance. "I get that he's generous but come on."
"Aren't those blades super expensive," Edward points at Zhang's katana sheathed to his side.
"I'm his friend so I have to accept his gifts," Zhang cuts back, ignoring the accusation, "You're his superior, Edward. He has to learn the difference on who to give gifts to."
"Okay," Edward raises his brow playfully. The distortion zone distorts and ripples violently like jello as the two teams work together to clear out the lower-level Elusives. Lightning sparks out in multiple directions, nearly hitting many wardens as they try to escape its path.
An Elusive scurries across the area, its movements like a blur in action. It hides away from the wardens, its presence far away to not alert them. Its pure white eyes glow a faint purple hue. Through its eyes, the master looks through the Elusive. He sees the wardens trying to clear the distortion zone by themselves. Their efforts seem futile as he watches them from the shadows.
The master sits on the rooftop of a tall building, over a labyrinth of glass and metal, a place of bustling lives and hidden secrets. His eyes narrow as he scans the regular lives below him. His eyes glow a faint purple color symbolizing the link between the Elusive. As he blinks the link is cut and his eyes return back to normal. His smile fades, replaced by an unreadable focus.
Where is he? Where is the Ascendant? The master annoyingly thinks to himself, his legs dangling off the ledge. Perhaps I overestimated things. He scowls to himself. I was hoping the Ascendants would have arrived first. The distortion zone was supposed to be a lure like a moth to a flame. Instead of him, the wardens came.
"Fall," the master commands. One of his manmade Elusive scurrying through the garbage in the city starts to feel an intense pain searing through it. The Elusive shifts between solid and liquid as its body ruptures like a watermelon. The agony of its death lingers in the air. The dark spiritual energy rising like smoke transports the master back to the ground.
Messing with his turtleneck collar, the master walks out of the alleyway like nothing happened. He looks around the area, surveying the passing pedestrians and cars. Something powerful yet ancient is in the air. It wasn't the raw energy of an Elusive yet it felt similar. It felt like a distant echo in the air.
Could that be the Ascendant? The master wonders to himself, he slides his hand into his coat jacket. He slowly makes his way to the energy source. Ascendant or not. This level of energy is astonishing.
He thought it was too faint to follow but as he moved closer and closer, the energy became stronger and clearer. This is a lingering presence he couldn't grasp.
Kiara and Evander sit awkwardly in the bus, Her bodies shifting back and forth as the bus slowly moves and shifts lanes on the road. Evander looks at her with a mean look, clearly disappointed in her decision.
"Are you that afraid of your grandfather?" Evander crosses his arms together. "It's just a piece of junk anyway."
"It's an important piece of junk," Kiara reminds Evander, poking his arm relentlessly.
"When did you care about damages when you almost swerved into another car yesterday?" Evander raises his eyebrow.
"Grandpa always encourages me to be safe and let go on the road with the Civic," Kiara raises her finger, her tone reminiscent of a stereotypical nerd. "He says he doesn't care if the Civic is basically wrecked because he can pay it off."
"Alright," Evander rolls his eyes, looking at the city through the window.
"Look, it's not easy doing the right thing." Kiara leans back on her seat. "I don't even know what that means half the time."
"No one does," Evander says, his voice soft but still distant. "You have a choice which some don't get in life."
"You make it sound so simple," Kiara says, slightly frustrated.
"It's the truth," Evander says, his gaze still focused on the bus window. His tone is serious but almost perceptively warmer. "The choices are easy but what's not easy is the situations that demand them."
"I want to make my own agency but.." Kiara falters on her words, her voice a little quiet. "I want to matter. I want people to depend on me yet I don't know how to help myself. To help Grandpa and the others but I'll only be a burden."
"Do you know the reason why I'm still here?" Evander utters with a rare soft sigh.
"Is it because you want me to find a spell to break the soul-bound?" Kiara says, throwing a mischievous smile, trying to deflect the situation.
"That and I see potential in things," Evander says coldly but with a hint of curiosity. "You're interesting while also annoying. I don't see how you don't see that."
The bus slowly brakes as it reaches the entrance to the national park. The trees sway gently in their presence. Kiara and Evander slowly rise from their seats as they approach the entrance. Meanwhile, in the city, the master frustratingly walks around the civilians around him.
This is taking too long. I lost the flickering energy source, the master grits his teeth, his silvery black hair shimmering in the sun's bathing light. I'll see how you do against my creations. If my prototypes hold up then your comrades next.
His eyes widen with an intensity glowing a deep unnatural purple hue. Instantly connecting with many Elusives in the city and surrounding area like a black thread. The master is flickering each Elusives POV like a broken film to find the who or what is the energy source coming off of.
One Elusive is perched on the roof of a building. Another one is busy fighting off a warden in a secluded area. Each view cuts in and out like a camera cuts, searching for something.
"Let me raise a charm spell over the area we'll be in," Kiara suggested, raising her hand sign in the air. "We can't let everyone get involved accidentally while me and you train." A translucent spell shimmers in and out of existence slowly surrounding the forest in a protective barrier.
Evander walks forward deeper into the forest, brushing aside the twigs and branches in his way. Kiara quickly pursues him making sure he doesn't get lost. The Elusives ain't violent towards Evander's presence, their movements jittery and out of sync. Their bodies shift unnaturally like living liquid.
"Ah. It feels better to be back in my element," Evander slides his hands in his pockets, tilting his head smugly. "Kaiser," Evander commands, a black shadowy splotch appears below his feet.
A black shadow of an armored knight slowly rises from the inky substance below it. Kiara stares in awe as Kaiser slowly rises from beneath Evander's feet. The shikigami started to slowly crawl over to the Elusives but its movements were too jittery and its form constantly flickering between solid and transparent.
"Why is it doing that?" Kiara points out to Evander.
"Guess I can't use it fully right now," Evander scoffs to himself, "Return." The spirit companion quickly dissipates back into pure spiritual energy. Raising his hand, Evander summons his khopesh into battle.
Evander gives out a sigh, the energy around him feels strained in the air.
"Tch…" Evander mutters quietly to himself. "Kaiser is too entangled with Kiara's energy reserves."
Raising his Khopesh, Evander steadies his focus. Bringing his blade with a heavy force, he effortlessly slices into multiple Elusives- slicing them like swiss cheese. The energy created sends a shock wave of energy, Kiara's and Evander's clothes move and flap heavily under the intense breeze.
"Filthy animals," Evander utters, steadying his blade into a ready stance. He turns his head back at Kiara, his gaze annoyed by her standing still. "I'm not the only one training- you are also involved," Evander says with annoyance.
Kiara instinctively raises her hand sign, shifting to her warden uniform. Grabbing her katana, she readies herself as many more Elusives make their path forward.
The Elusives start to swarm together like a huge wave. Their bodies crawl on top of each other as they make their way towards the two. Evander swings his blade in an arc cutting down the front line while Kiara rushes forward towards the cursed spirits.
As the two slice and mow down the Elusives, the master is busy searching for the Ascendants. His POV flickers like an old film, each one fragile and warped. Each connection disconnects as the Elusives get farther away from his location. The cursed network felt strained under his will.
I was hoping to find the one that escaped the talisman thanks to that warden girl, the master thinks to himself, his lips tightening with irritation. He looks up intently at the bright blue sky above him, its calmness mocking his failure. Yet I can't find him. Perhaps my search will be better if I search for his companions. Easier and just as useful.
Something pulses in the air. A faint but familiar energy the master has been following. He tries to ignore the feeling but something tugged in the back of his mind.
In the distance something caught his eyes. Something shimmering almost translucent. A charm spell. The master turns his gaze to the Crimson PineGlade, turning his head, he sees none of the regular civilians aware of its enchantment. It had to be the workings of a warden.
An Elusive's eye switches from pure white to a faint violet hue signaling the connection. The cursed spirit crawls on a nearby branch, looming over Kiara and Evander slicing down the Elusives with minimum effort.
The master could sense a powerful energy between the two. He locks his gaze onto Kiara- something off is about her energy. It isn't quite defined or powerful so she isn't the one. Yet something felt off about her- it had remnants of the Ascendant's energy surging through her.
Turning his gaze to Evander, his spiritual energy felt much closer. His presence resonates with the same frequency as that of the orbs containing the Ascendant's energy. Not similar- identical. It's no longer a coincidence, not this time. The master has found the one.
"Found you," the master says with a sick joy as if he is hunting a wild animal, "Fall."
An Elusive in the background swarming with the others against Kiara and Evander starts to feel something moving inside it. Its body starts to contort and tremble as its body ruptures all over the place. A grotesque mockery of rebirth. The master has successfully exchanged himself to where Kiara and Evander were. He emerges with dark mist surrounding him.
The hunt is over.
Sitting on a branch high in the air, the master watches carefully as Evander and Kiara finish eliminating the swarm of Elusives.
Who is that girl? The master thinks to himself, leaning lazily against his hand. His legs dangle and playfully fidgets over the ground. Why is she fighting with the Ascendant like that?
Pulling out a rune stone, an Elusive scurries and stops next to the master, opening its slimy gaping mouth.
"Place it somewhere near here," the master calmly orders, gently placing the stone in the Elusive's mouth. "I want to see these two see what a distortion zone is really like."
The Elusives body pulsates with a strange energy. With each step, it leaves behind a trail of distorted air behind it. The air is bent and hums as if reality is unfolding between the rune's energy. Up in the tree, the master's eyes gleamed with a quiet amusement of what was to come.
"Well that was fun," Evander rests his blade on his shoulder. "Next time, don't try to make it dramatic. You're starting to steal the spotlight."
Kiara dramatically sticks out her tongue and mimics a finger gun motion.
"Ugh. You had your fun," Kiara says in a relaxed tone, leaning forward. She smiles to herself but she still thinks about the situation. "I wonder how much stronger I got from killing all of these Elusives."
"Oh you probably got a bit stronger," Evander says in a helpful yet sarcastic tone. "Remember it's gradual. Just because you're killing a bunch of Elusives left and right isn't going to make you stronger overnight. Skills and power don't magically jump up because of a few extra kills."
"Thanks for the pep talk," Kiara says with a mix of frustration and determination. "I thought killing these Elusives would make me feel something but I guess it didn't."
Why is she training under him? The master's gaze narrows, his curiosity peaking as Kiara's and Evander's conversation continues below him. The eye starts to grow heavier as the crackling of spiritual energy becomes louder.
The master watches carefully as the dome starts to form itself. A thick oppressive energy crackles slightly in the static air. The sounds created were warped and echoing unnaturally with faint screams. It devours the forest landscape, leaving behind nothing but a warped reflection of the surrounding that once was.
"Oh it's beautiful," the master compliments, seeing his faint reflection on the dome, his facial expression distorted and smudged together.
"Evander!" Kiara shouts out, pointing her finger as a dark purple and pink dome slowly rises in the distance. Turning his head, Evander's eyes widen, his mind not comprehending what he is seeing.
The two look on as a distortion zone quickly forms in the distance. A dark spiral opens in the middle of the forest as a large whirlwind that feels like it is going to lift Kiara into the air itself.
Black and purple lighting fly out, almost hitting Kiara, Evander, and the nearby trees in the area. Merrick watches carefully as the dome of the Distortion zone slowly forms.
"It's only a D-rank zone and it shows this much energy," the master thinks to himself, analyzing the situation.
"Guess it's your lucky day," Evander jokes to himself, "Here's a Distortion zone."
"Is it really safe for us to enter?" Kiara questions, grasping her blade tightly, her knuckles turning white from the pressure.
"You said you wanted to help your grandfather with the dome in the outskirts of the state," Evander calmly explains, "This one doesn't feel that powerful so maybe it could train you.."
"I don't know if my Grandfather would be proud," Kiara says sheepishly.
"Kiara. He's going to be gone for the next couple of days. He won't notice a thing," Evander summons his daggers before walking into the dome, "Anyways I need to sharpen up on my skills- 2000 years in a talisman does something to you."
The master smirks to himself. He has taken the bait, the master's hair blowing in a soft yet persistent wind. It whips around with an ethereal quality almost creating a haunting shadow over the earth. His face remains unreadable as Evander enters the dome.
Taking a deep breath, Kiara steps forward into the distortion zone. Opening her eyes, she is blinded by a deep purple hue over the landscape engulfed in the dome. The air felt uncomfortably cold yet warm at the same time. Large jagged crystals form and shoot out of the ground. Sparks of violet and pink electricity spill out of the crystals.
A constant humming sound pulses and fills the area like a high pitched scream. The air felt like burning wood and it lingered in the back of Kiara's throat yet it had a hint of electric flavoring to it.
The Elusives were much bigger and bulkier than the ones Kiara and Evander fought beforehand. Their forms were much more jagged and had pure white crystals erupting through their body. Their movements were jittery yet they exuded a sense of power to them. The interior of the dome has a swirly pattern similar to that of a storm cloud.
Evander appears out of nowhere placing his hand on her shoulder. Kiara tenses up as the Elusives spot their presence- their abnormal corrupted bodies start slowly approaching them. Each footsteps felt like a huge echo trembling under feet.
"Don't freeze up now," Evander says calmly, his voice razor-sharp. "You follow my lead and you'll make it out just fine."
"You make it sound way easier than it is," Kiara mutters, trying to steady her stance. "Just don't get dramatic on me and get yourself killed, okay."
Evander's eyes narrow with annoyance. The Elusives hiss violently as they start to lunge towards the two, their bodies streamlined, their claws extended forward mid-air. The master watches closely from the distance, smiling to himself, analyzing Kiara's and Evander's every move.